Interview with Lewis W. Cochran, November 5, 1985

Interview Summary

In this interview, Lewis W. "Bud" Cochran discusses the origins of the Kentucky Research Foundation (KRF), which later became University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF). In 1940, Ezra Gillis was named the liaison with federal agencies such as the Works Projects Administration (WPA), where money was used to build several buildings on campus, including the Funkhouser building. A committee was later formed in 1944 to develop an outside plan to secure money for research and the university. He recalls that Dr. Ernest N. Fergus was one of the original facilitators, who thought of the KRF "as an institution to actively secure funds and do research in its own right". Cochran mentions the difficulty of obtaining money from any source for research, and believed that President Herman L. Donovan's objective was to eliminate control and management of these research funds by state officials. He talks at length about how this concept was finally realized in May, 1945. The incorporators were W. S. Webb, Frank Murray, C. C. Ross, and Ernest N. Fergus.

In April 1953, Merle Baker, from the College of Engineering, was appointed the first director. Cochran remembers the Physics department received its first research grant of $28,000 in 1954, from the Atomic Energy Commission. He explains at length how the KRF operates. Cochran joined the Board in 1958. The KRF decided to purchase Spindletop Farm as an investment, for $850,000, in 1959. Cochran was against this since UK could not take on a debt, and felt the foundation was being misused for the benefit of the university. He argued for the strengthening of university research in support of applied research and development. He talks at length about the state appropriated funding for capital and operating expenses.

Cochran recalls in 1964, the articles of incorporation were revised to appoint the President of the University as the President of the KRF, and the conflicts of interest with this. During this time, A. D. Kirwan became Executive Director and Cochran became Associate Dean of the Graduate School; both supported research as much as possible. Ray Bard was made executive director in 1964. Cochran remembers the organization's name was changed to UKRF, probably done in reaction to the handling of Spindletop. He points out that the UKRF is now seen as a university rather than a state organization. He discusses at length the controversy over Main Chance Farm, which sat between Spindletop and Cold Stream Farms, where an anti-trust suit was brought against UK and the Keeneland Association by Arnold Pessin and Rex Ellsworth over bidding for the property. Cochran was named Vice-President of the foundation in 1969. He discusses the Attorney General's suit that charged misuse of university resources.

Interview Keyword

Bud Cochran

Interview LC Subject

Cochran, Lewis W. "Bud," 1915-1996 Cochran, Lewis W. "Bud," 1915-1996--Interviews University of Kentucky University of Kentucky--History

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.